


And now we're falling

by theGirlwiththebrokenSmile



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, I'll add tags, M/M, Protective Harry, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 12:55:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15582462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theGirlwiththebrokenSmile/pseuds/theGirlwiththebrokenSmile
Summary: Louis knows that Harry would die for him. It's what scares him most.orA Larry Hunger Games AU set during the second quarter quell





	And now we're falling

**Author's Note:**

> Everything about the Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins, everything about the characters belongs to themselves.

.

 

 

 

It’s still early; the morning sun touches the grass and the tree crowns in front of Louis’ window, painting the sky purple. There are no clouds. It’s a pretty day, ironically, and tragic all the same – the day of the reaping. Louis couldn’t sleep. He kept tossing and turning all night, dreadful, bloody pictures appearing in his head, fear tearing at his limbs.

 

It’s not a normal reaping either, which honestly would be bad enough. It’s the second quarter quell. Instead of two tributes, four of each District will be sent to the Capitol. 48 in total. 48 kids between the Age of 12 and 18, locked in an arena (which could be everything, a jungle, an ocean, a landscape of ice, fire, filled with dangerous plants, animals, mutations), fighting for their lives, while the whole country watches on screens. Only one can survive, the winner.

 

Four. The number kept pounding in Louis’ head, making sleep impossible. Four.

 

The probability of being picked is so much higher than all the years before. He’s 18 now. It’s his last year. It’s most of his friends, his boyfriends last year. But then there is his family. His sister Lottie is 14 now and Fizzy is 12. The twins are 8 and still too young, thank God. The good thing is that his father is the mayor of District 12, which means they’re one of the richest families here and there was never a need for them to take tesserae stones (getting a meager year’s supply of grain and oil for one person, but also having your name in the glass balls once more). His name is 7 times in the glass ball (one for each year he’s been old enough to be picked), Lottie’s 3 times and Fizzy’s 1. The chances are slim, but they are there.

 

Louis finally gave up on sleep and got out of bed, and now he’s here, looking through the glass at the rich colours coating District 12, and all he can think about is the conversation he and his boyfriend Harry had a few days back.

 

They went to Harrys after school, doing homework together, making out in his kitchen, making a small dinner, eating, making out again, closely followed by making love in his bed. Louis loves the days he has Harry all to himself (he has his attention to himself most of the time, even when there are other people, but still it's nice not being interrupted).

 

They laid next to each other for a while, talking softly, sharing kisses and tender touches. Louis remembers how he wound one of Harrys curls around his finger, his thoughts drifting to the reaping that's about to come, against his will. They don’t talk about it often so he doesn’t know why he even said anything.

 

“What if I get picked?”, he whispered in the twilight around them. Most of the time, he was more worried about his sisters, about Harry, his friends. But in that moment, he genuinely wondered what would happen if he’d be the one getting picked – if he’d be the one being sent to the Capitol, in the arena, having to fight for his life.

 

“I would volunteer”, Harry said immediately, pulling him close. Louis froze. It wasn’t a joke, or a cheesy love declaration, or an empty promise. It was the truth – he could hear it in Harrys voice, the way he said it like a statement, a simple fact. His big hand stroked up and down Louis’ back, caressed his hair, like he wanted to reassure him. “I would die for you.”

 

“No”, Louis whispered, desperate almost, like a plea. His hands grasped Harrys shirt in a death grip. He felt like he was choking. “You wouldn’t.”

 

“Yes”, Harrys said firmly, no room for arguments. “I would.”

 

It almost made Louis angry. It seemed selfish to him in that moment – Harry leaving Louis behind, just so he wouldn’t have to watch him die.

 

 _What about me?,_ he wanted to say. _What am I supposed to do when you’re gone? I can’t live without you either. I can’t watch you die either. I can’t._

 

They made love again shortly after, rougher this time, Louis clawing at Harrys back, biting his neck harshly. Harry tried to calm him down, he could tell, stroking Louis’ arms, peppering his face with kisses. It made tears dwell in his eyes. _Don’t leave me. Don’t you dare._

 

 

Someone knocks at Louis’ door, startling him slightly, pulling him away from the memory. He takes a deep breath and turns away from the window and the colours on the outside. The door opens slowly and a small figure slips through. It’s Fizzy. She’s wearing her night gown, her brown hair a mess. She smiles when she sees that he’s awake.

 

“Hey, there”, Louis says softly, walking towards her. “You couldn’t sleep either, hm?”

 

She shakes her head, making grabbing hands at him. He hugs her tightly, letting her squish her face against his neck. She grew a little, he thinks. She doesn’t have to stand on her tippy toes anymore to fit under his chin.

 

“’M scared”, she mumbles.

 

“You don’t have to be. None of us will be picked. Not me, not Lotts, not you.”

 

“Promise?”

 

He bites his lip. He can’t promise it of course. He does it anyway. “Yes, Fiz, promise. And after the reaping, we’ll buy a fancy cake at the bakery for the celebration. I’m sure Mum’ll allow you to choose which one.”

 

After the reaping, everyone is supposed to be celebrating. A lot of people do, out of relief that their children have been spared for another year. But at least two (four, this time) families will pull their shutters, lock their doors, trying to figure out how to survive the painful weeks to come.

 

He can feel her smile against his skin and tries to focus on that. “I already know”, she says, her voice getting higher with excitement. “The pink one with the flowers. Harry said it’s filled with white chocolate mousse.”

 

“Sounds great.”

 

Harrys family owns the bakery in the District and Louis‘ sisters love the cakes and baked goods there, always squeaking excitingly when they walk by the display window. Louis is glad they’re one of the few families with enough money to buy something there every so often. The thought of how many people here having barely enough money or food to get by, makes his throat go dry. The majority of them has to go to the regularly black market, District 12 being the poorest District of all.

 

“Are we inviting Niall then? And Perrie?”, Fizzy asks.

 

“Yeah.” Louis nods, squeezing her shoulders. “If Mum and Dad allow it, but I’m pretty sure they will.”

 

Niall and Perrie are his best friends. They live in the seam, their families very poor, like so many others. Louis’ family often invites them over for dinner, because there is little else they can do. Niall and Perrie both have blond hair, looking a lot like each other, causing everyone to believe they’re siblings. They almost are, Louis thinks sometimes. They’re so close. Louis knows them from school and in the breaks, they always eat together – him, Harry, Niall and Perrie. Today, he’s scared for them too, and their families.

 

When he and Fizzy go downstairs after a while, their parents are up as well, setting the table in the kitchen.

 

Jay smiles when she sees them. “Good morning, you two. Sit down, I’ll get you a glass of milk. We also have strawberries – but they’re for dinner tonight. You can have cheese and a slice of the bread though; Anne brought it by yesterday. It’s one of the expensive ones, with sunflower seeds and walnuts.”

 

Fizzys eyes are starting glow. She quickly walks over to the table, sitting down with her father, who pecks her cheek. Bread for breakfast is a privilege not many people here have. Louis smiles and sits down next to Fizzy. It doesn’t take long for Lottie and the twins to join them as well.

 

The food is really good, but they’re still talking less than usual. Louis can see the worry he’s feeling in each of their faces. Especially in his parents’. They look tired somehow, exhaused, but their eyes are filled with fear. His father has his lips pressed to a thin line, his blue eyes staring at something only he himself can see. His mother’s hands are shaking when she reaches for her glass. Louis wants to say something, anything, but he can’t seem to find the words, so he continues to eat in silence.

 

When they’re done with breakfast, he stands up. „I’m meeting Harry, Niall and Perrie at the square.“

 

His mother just nods. „Be back in time.“

 

„Of course.“

 

He doesn’t have a choice. They both know it. He kisses her cheek quickly, waving at the others, before leaving the kitchen and the house. It’s chilly outside. The sun is high up in the sky by now, cloaking the houses and streets with soft golden light.

 

Louis walks down the steps in front of his house, before turning to his left. He is excited to see his friends, especially Harry. He’s missing him already, despite the fact they saw each other last evening. He just wants to feel his arms around him, wants to breath in his familiar scent, wants to feel safe for a moment, even though he’s not. He walks a little faster and after a few minutes he reaches the square. There are not many people here today, which is understandable, but seems wrong all the same – no bustle, no babel of voices. The Shops are closed. Louis swallows, looking around. He spots his friends soon enough. There’re a few feet away, all three of them, seemingly waiting for him.

 

They’re talking quietly and as he gets closer, he sees that Niall isn’t laughing as cheerfully as usual, that Perrie is pressing her lips together, much like his father did earlier, and that Harrys eyes are a darker green, like there’s a shadow falling over them. When he reaches them, they glance up at him, smiling. Harry immediately takes a step closer to him, pulling him in his arms. Louis can feel his muscles relaxing instantly. He noses at Harrys neck, while Harrys big hands stroke his back, his lips against his caramel-coloured hair.

 

“Hey, sun“, he murmers in his deep drawl. “Are you alright?“

 

Louis shrugs, twining his arms around Harrys waist. He hast to tilt his head back to look at him. He’s so tall. And handsome. His chocolate brown curls are falling down to his broad shoulders, looking smooth as always and building a contrast to his pale skin. His green eyes are still too dark, but softening when they lock with Louis‘ blue ones.

 

“Yeah. Just worried.“

 

“Hmm.“ Harry nods, kissing his hair again, then his forehead. “Me too.“

 

Someone clears their throat and a seconds later Louis gets nudged in the rips. He looks up to see Nialls grin. His blond hair is messy, his eyes big and blue, a little like his own. Perrie next to him is smiling at him as well. She combed her own blonde hair back into a ponytail.

 

“We exist as well. Hey“, Niall says, nudging his side again.

 

“Hey yourself“, Louis answers, detaching himself from Harry to hug first Niall and then Perrie.

 

Perrie sighs when he lets go of her, glancing around the square. “It’s worse than the last years. I mean . . . four. Can you imagine that?“

 

Louis sighs as well, sinking back against Harrys chest. His boyfriend immediately wraps him up in his arms and pulls him close again. His curls tickle Louis temple and he smells good, like pastry and chocolate and warmth. “It’s a lot.”

 

“Yeah, I know“, Niall murmers, looking at the ground. „The possibility being picked is double as high . . . my name is in the glass ball 25 times.“

 

„And mine 28. It’s gonna be okay“, Perrie says, looping her arm around his shoulders. Louis bites his lip, suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of guilt. He can feel Harry tensing behind him and knows he feels the same way. Their names are in the glass ball 7 times, and here they are complaining. They are silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

 

Louis remembers flashbacks of his dreams; his name being picked, Harry volunteering, his sisters being picked, all of them dying on the screen. Blood everywhere, his mother screaming. His throat goes dry once again. He feels dizzy with fear. That can’t happen. It can’t.

 

Suddenly there’s Harrys hand, feeling for his own, intertwining their fingers, like he can sense Louis’ thoughts. Which. He probably can. Louis turns his face towards him, stretching a bit, so he can kiss Harrys chin. Harrys grip around him tightens and Louis allows himself so close his eyes for a second, to feel safe. Harry smells safe, like home. His big hands on his body feel safe, familiar, just _good_. Louis never wants him to let go.

 

 _I’d volunteer for you too, you know?,_ he thinks, almost like a silent rebellion. _Don’t think I wouldn’t_.

 

“Let’s go over to the Meadow”, Perrie says after a while. “Not long now ‘til they’ll start preparing everything around here for the reaping, and I don’t want to watch.”

 

Louis opens his eyes and nods at her. “Same.”

 

They’re often at the Meadow. It’s kinda their place. It’s nice there, far away from the streets filled with starving people, from the black market, the broken houses, the misery. It’s a scruffy field, and now, during spring, it’s filled with blooming flowers. Just next to it is the chain-link fence, that’s enclosing District 12. On the other side of the fence are the woods, seeming endless. The fence is pretty much never electrified and there are a few holes, so it’d be easy to slip through and get to the other side.

 

But almost nobody does that – mostly because of the wild animals out there, like wolves, or bears, or venomous snakes. Also, it’s forbidden to leave District 12. It’s forbidden to hunt. Most don’t even have weapons. Louis only knows two people going into the forest regularly – one being Nialls brother Greg. He’s 22 and he already has his own family, a wife and a three-year-old son. He’s very good at building traps and using his bow and arrow (a rarity, crafted by his father, back then, when he was still alive). Greg sells his prays at the Hob, the black market, most of the time, or brings them to his mother for cooking, or gives them to Perries family. If he wouldn’t do that, it’d be even more difficult for Nialls and Perries families to go by.

 

The other person is Harry. Ever since he met Greg they kinda allied. They build traps together, gather, fish. Sometimes they’re away for hours and Louis tries (and fails) not to worry. He knows Harry loves spending time in the woods. He says it feels like freedom. Also, his family can use the meat he brings home, even though they’re not as poor as Nialls.

 

Louis went with them a few times. Niall never did. Louis understands why – it was fascinating but terrifying at the same time. Slipping through a hole in the fence and suddenly being outside. Harry was right though. It felt like freedom somehow. The colours are different in the woods, the light too. It’s like entering a new world.

 

Harry and Greg first showed him a glade with purple wild flowers, where he and Harry had a tickle fight, rolling around in the grass, until they cried with laughter. Then they showed him a lake, where they taught him how to swim. The water was dark and deep, but Harry was there with him, so he didn’t feel scared for a second.

 

Greg also showed him how to throw knives. It’s Louis favourite thing now. The first time it felt weird. The second time he hit the target dead on.

 

“You’re good at that, sun”, Harry whispered, showering his neck with hot kisses. He sounded proud, making Louis feel proud in return. Greg grinned at him with a nod, giving him a thumbs-up, before collecting the knife. It became one of his favourite memories.

 

 

Louis can feel Harry letting go of his waist, bringing him back to the present. He grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers. Louis looks down at them and smiles. He loves how perfect they fit. Together with Niall and Perrie they start walking across the square and through the Seam to get to the Meadow. This part of District 12 is usually crawling with people – coal miners heading out for work, children going to school. Today the black cinder streets are empty, the shutters on the houses closed. The quietness is unnerving.

 

Louis decides to break it, leaning a little closer to Harry. “I promised Fizzy that we’ll buy your pink cake after the reaping. For celebration.”

 

He chooses to make small talk, picking his words carefully. Because even in the empty streets you never know who hears you. When Louis was younger, he sometimes scared his parents with the things he would blurt out about the people who rule their country, Panem, from the city called the Capitol. Eventually though he understood this would only lead to trouble, so he learned to hold his tongue and avoid discussing tricky topics – like food shortages, or the Hunger Games. His sisters might begin to repeat his words, and then where would they be?

 

Harry smiles at him, squeezing his fingers softly. “Yeah, that’s the prettiest, my Mum made it.”

 

“Ooh, I know which one you mean!”, Perrie says, turning towards them. “I can’t even imagine what it would taste like!”

 

“Well, you can try it later. We’ll probably invite both your families to dinner”, Louis says. Perrie and Niall smile at him, their blue eyes sparkling, a colour slightly lighter than his own. They look so much alike in that moment it seems weird that they’re not real siblings.

 

“You have to come as well”, Louis says to Harrys, swinging their hands back and forth. “Gemma, Anne, Robin and you.”

 

Harry nods instantly, pressing his lips against Louis’ temple. “Of course.”

 

“Aw“, Perrie says, grabbing Louis‘ other hand. Hers is so much smaller than Harrys, not fitting quite as well. „I can’t wait. It’s gonna be really nice. Given that . . .”

 

“Given that none of us gets picked“, Niall finishes her sentence. The dark expression that creeps in his eyes seems alien on his usually happy face. Perrie sighs with a nod.

 

“Don’t be pessimistic, Ni“, Harry says, his voice deep and soothing. “The possibility is still low.“

 

“Yeah, well, I’d say the same if I had – what? Seven entries?“, Niall retorts, sounding angry all of a sudden. He presses his lips together, not looking at Harry.

 

“Niall“, Louis says, frowning. “That’s not his fault.”

 

“No, I know. Just the way it is, right?”

 

He still sounds angry. He is right, of course. The reaping system is unfair, with the poor getting the worst of it. And even though the rules were set up by the Capitol, not the Districts, Louis understands it must be hard not to resent those who don’t have to sign up for tesserae. Niall knows his anger at Harry is misdirected. They talked about it before – far away on the Meadow, with hushed voices. How the tesserae are just another tool to cause misery in the Districts. How they are a way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure they will never trust one another. It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have them divided among themselves.

 

But there’s no use in being angry. It doesn’t change anything. It’s doesn’t make things fair.

 

“Please”, Louis says. “Let’s not fight. Not today.“

 

Harry strokes his thumb over his knuckles tenderly. Perrie nods. She lets go of his hand to grab Nialls instead and kisses his cheek with a loud _mwah_ -sound.

 

“Lou’s right, dear brother, we shouldn’t fight today“, she says, almost apologetically. Niall looks at her and bites his lip, nodding slowly. He rakes his fingers through his blond hair, making a mess out of it.

 

“‘M sorry, Haz. Just worried“, he says after a few seconds, finally gazing over to the curly haired lad. “I know it’s not your fault.”

 

“No problem, Ni. We’re all worried“, Harry replies instantly, before he stops walking, bringing Louis to a halt with him. „We’re here.“

 

Louis looks up to see that they indeed reached the Meadow. A wide patch of grass unfurls in front of them, divided through the high fence on their right. The flowers are everywhere, white and yellow, wild, pretty. In the distance Louis can see the rocks they always sit on, mostly after school, talking for hours. They’re surrounded by bushes, shielding them a bit.

 

“Great, come on“, Perrie pipes and walks towards the rocks, her blonde hair waving in the wind. Louis smiles wildly and follows her together with Harry and Niall.

 

They pluck a few blackberries from the bushes before sitting down. Louis hums as the sweet tartness explodes across his tongue.

 

“Oh, I almost forgot!”, he says, falling into a Capitol accent, suddenly not caring for who hears them. “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds –“

 

He tosses a berry in a high arc towards Harry, who catches it his mouth and finishes his sentence with a wide grin. “- be _ever_ in your favour.”

 

Perrie and Niall burst into laughter. It’s a relief hearing that sound. They have to joke about it, because the alternative is to be paralysed with fear. Like Louis was in his dreams last night, in the moments before sunrise, the moment he felt Fizzys face against his neck, Harrys heartbeat under his fingertips. He shoves another berry in his mouth.

 

They settle back in a nook in the rocks, behind the bushes. From this place they’re almost invisible, but have a clear view over the Meadow and the woods behind the fence. It really is a glorious day. A blue sky, a soft breeze. Everything could be perfect. If this was just a holiday. If the day off only meant sitting here all day, eating berries and talking with his friends.

 

But instead they have to be standing in the square at two o’clock – four hours away – waiting for the names to be called out, hoping it won't be theirs.

 

 

.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm curious - who do you think will be picked in the reaping?


End file.
